Munster are set to lean on their returning Emerging Ireland players for their next fixture, against the Bulls, at Thomond Park on Saturday.
On the back of an away loss to Connacht, Graham Rowntree’s troops are return to home soil this week and play at their Limerick stadium for the first time.
It has been a disappointing opening to the campaign results wise, with losses to Cardiff, Dragons and Connacht sandwiched by a victory over Zebre Parma.
Tough run of games to come
And with a difficult block of games to come that sees them face the Bulls (home), Leinster (away) and Ulster (home), a morale-boosting win is needed.
On the injury front Munster are again set to be without full-back Mike Haley for Saturday’s game, while flanker and captain Peter O’Mahony is a doubt.
That means the coaching team could call on several players who have travelled back from a successful tour to South Africa with the Emerging Ireland side.
“My understanding is the boys are back in with us on Thursday, I think they are back today and have tomorrow off. We expect to see them on Thursday and as far as I’m aware, everyone is available for selection. That’s my understanding,” defence coach Denis Leamy told The Irish Times after Tuesday’s training session.
“Just looking at their displays individually, I thought to a man they all had big tours. That’s very exciting. There is a lot of experienced players in Munster, they’re still finding their feet and we’re coming together. There’s an awful lot of young talent. Roman Salanoa to name-check one, a guy we have huge hopes for.
“But to a man, the Emerging group coming back, there’s all quality there. We’re looking forward to getting those boys back in the building, looking forward to developing them. The experience they’ve gained down in South Africa will be something that’s interesting hearing about as well.”
Good reset at training
On those tricky block of fixtures on the horizon, Leamy admitted it will be a “very difficult” period but he is pleased by the energy shown in the camp.
“The games that are to come are obviously very, very difficult,” he said. “The league is excellent quality now, there is no easy game. Obviously, the results haven’t been what we would like them to be. That’s a fact. But the spirit around the group is really good, the energy is really good.
“We had a very good reset on Monday, lots of good chats, discussions, building plans, learnings, all those things that go on. It was a really good day. We were on the pitch for a shorter session yesterday, that went well really. We had an excellent session there roughly about half an hour ago. We had a really good tempo to the session, lots of good quality, and we’re really excited about playing what is an unbelievable side coming to Thomond Park in the Bulls.
“So there’s loads to be excited about. It hasn’t been what we wanted it to be to date, but we believe in it and we believe we’re getting better and better.”
Leamy continued that he believes a change in Munster’s fortunes is in the offing and feels it was always going to take time for new ideas to bed in.
Haven’t quite clicked yet
“We’re seeing stuff in training, we’re implementing new game plans. It’s obviously a very new coaching group, so when I say improvements in games, we’re probably not quite seeing that yet. That’s a fair point,” explained the former number eight.
“We’re training at a very good tempo, I believe our players are fitter, they’re developing skills under pressure. We’re asking them to play a game that hasn’t been asked of them before. Everyone has their own philosophies on the game but we’re trying to develop those skill sets to allow us to execute on the pitch.
“We are seeing evidence of that in training. Yes, we haven’t quite clicked to date on the pitch, but we believe that on the evidence we’ve seen through getting fitter, playing under pressure, developing different aspects of the game, that there are big performances to come.”
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